Brown Berets de Houston, No Friends to the Cops – Incendiary Corrects Mistaken Reporting
Photo: The Brown Berets de Houston, Tejatzlan
By Jennifer Kelly, with contributions from David Martinez
In the article “Houston: Chicano Moratorium March Returns Decades After Original” published on July 30, Incendiary made errors and misleading statements in its reporting regarding collaboration with the police observed at the rally. Due to a lack of investigation by the reporter at the event, it was stated that the march was “marred by cooperation with the Houston Police Department,” and that this cooperation was, “engineered by the Houston chapter of the Brown Berets in cooperation with the revisionist Houston Socialist Movement.” While the article was published months ago, Incendiary is following up in order to correct our mistaken reporting and give Los Brown Berets de Houston, Tejaztlan the chance to challenge the incorrect narrative we published implying they welcomed police cooperation.
In fact, the Houston Brown Berets did not cooperate with the police at the moratorium march, but it was a leader of the Houston Socialist Movement, David Michael Smith, who undermined the Berets leadership without their knowledge and spoke to police, claiming the cops were, ‘very nice’ and, ‘allowing them to take the street.’ “[Smith] shouldn’t be speaking for us,” Willie, a spokesman for the Los Brown Berets de Houston, Tejaztlan told Incendiary, in reference to the revelation. “No one should speak on the Brown Berets’ behalf. We speak on our own behalf.” Read the full story @ incendiarynews.com
#houston #htx #brownberets #policebrutality
SWEDEN: Revolutionaries Carry Out Demonstrations of International Solidarity
Photo: Revolutionary activists hold a demonstration outside of the Brazilian embassy in Stockholm
By Nélida Tello
Last week, revolutionaries across Sweden carried out several demonstrations and actions, mainly in support of international struggles.
In Stockholm, there was a demonstration outside of the Brazilian embassy in solidarity with the struggle for New Democratic Revolution in Brazil and against the fascist President Jair Bolsonaro, the repression of the masses, and the militarization that accompanies the destruction of the Amazon in favor of pro-landlord policies.
At that demonstration, activists held a banner depicting Comrade Igor Mendes, a Brazilian revolutionary and political prisoner. Comrade Igor was arrested and sentenced last year for leading mobilizations against the FIFA World Cup in 2014. His unwavering faith in the masses to struggle for New Democratic Revolution and the state’s failure to break his revolutionary spirit have inspired many around the world.
In a separate action in Sweden, banners were hung in three different cities that read, “We live in the time of the World Proletarian Revolution!” The banners were hung to remind the bourgeois that their elections are a farce, and to remind the masses of the revolutionary optimism taught by Chairman Mao and Chairman Gonzalo.
Read the full story @ incendiarynews.com
#sweden #maoism #revolution #solidarity #internationalism
IRAQ: Government Continues Crackdown as Death Toll Rises Over 300
By Miriam Cordova
Over the weekend, Iraqi security forces initiated a new crackdown on protesters which left at least nine dead and another 100 injured. The new wave of repression from the reactionary government leaves a total of at least 300 dead and another 15,000 injured since the protests began in October.
The main flashpoints for clashes between protesters and police have been several bridges that cross the Tigris River, connecting the heart of Baghdad with the Green Zone, a heavily fortified area which guards the US-backed government and both US and British Embassies. The new government offensive was launched to retake these bridges and other points where the masses have blocked major roadways. However, the protesters were able to successfully defend the central protest camp in Tahrir Square and the Al-Jumhuriyah Bridge.
A general strike last week also caused a further paralysis of the economy, with schools, businesses, and many roads completely closed. The protesters also took to blocking roads surrounding the major port of Umm Qasr near the city of Basra, through which a large portion of Iraq’s imports flow.
Read the full story @ incendiarynews.com
#iraq #protests #usimperialism #imperialism
BOLIVIA: Right Wing Coup Deposes Opportunist Morales Government
By Jakob Stein
On Sunday, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced his resignation following weeks of protests motivated by allegations of election fraud.
Once the election results were contested, a huge wave of protests erupted around the country. The masses rebelled in rejection of the reactionary old state, which over the past 14 years has only served to deepen the semi-colonial character of the country, increasing the exploitation of the peasantry and workers by pursuing a path of class collaboration.
The protests were intensified by far-right groups linked to both US imperialism and the comprador faction of the big bourgeoisie. As the protests came to a head, the military and police came out in opposition to Morales, and high-ranking officers demanded his resignation. Now Morales is fleeing to Mexico, seeking asylum under another opportunist, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The events of the past month in Bolivia are representative of what is happening throughout Latin America: the deepening of the general crisis of imperialism and by extension the crisis of bureaucratic capitalism. As the price of raw materials fall, and the economic “boom” that semi-colonial countries experienced from exporting them dwindles, the rotten essence of this “development” is revealed more and more.
Governments aligned with the bureaucrat bourgeoisie, exemplified by Morales, are less able to deliver on the reforms they promise the masses and are increasingly compelled by US imperialism and domestic capitalists to increase exploitation and institute austerity measures.
Read the full story @ incendiarynews.com
#Bolivia
ST. LOUIS: Garden Vandalism Believed to Be a Hoax
Photos: Pictures posted by “For the People-STL” after their garden was vandalized on November 10.
By Ed Dalton
Revisionist charity “For the People-STL” (FTP-STL) reported that their garden was vandalized the night of Sunday November 10 and proceeded to publicly blame revolutionary organization Community Power Network (CPN) for the act.
FTP-STL is a small organization run by a notorious opportunist, who has long been an antagonistic and bad element on the fringes of the Maoist movement in the US. He has been the subject of several articles published online. Despite the disdain for FTP-STL held by local revolutionaries and activists, CPN told Incendiary that they had no knowledge of the attack and had nothing to do with carrying it out. “We heard about it from the FTP Facebook like anyone else,” said CPN spokeswoman Rita. “We called around to other comrades and no one had any knowledge of this…it is our position that the leader of FTP did this himself to gain internet sympathy and raise money, blaming his political opposition.” The leader of FTP-STL, being the son of a wealthy landlord who uses a vacant lot of a property belonging to his mother to cultivate small vegetable patches, has been known around St. Louis and beyond as an attention-seeking, egotistical personality, leading local activists to strongly suspect he is staging a hoax against the Maoist movement in that city. His antics include excessive self-praise, appearing on the bourgeois talk show Dr. Phil, and even going so far as to base fictional characters on himself in self-published novels he has written.
#stl #stlouis #garden #opportunism
PITTSBURGH: Tenants Protest at Slumlord’s Home After Displacement
Photo: Tenants and activists protest outside of slumlord’s home
By Margarita Robinson
The morning of November 2, tenants and activists rallied outside slumlord Lara Washington’s mansion to confront her about deplorable living conditions and present their demands.
The President of the Allegheny County Rehabilitation Corporation (AHRCO), Lara Washington managed the DeRaud street apartments in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where a fire recently displaced over 70 tenants. The fire was caused by electrical problems that tenants had reported multiple times but management refused to repair. The tenants’ demands include the right to return to the Hill District as management is trying to relocate tenants to other parts of the city far away from workplaces, reparations for the damages caused by the fire and tenants’ displacement, and livable housing conditions.
A speaker from revolutionary organization Serve the People – Pittsburgh (STP-PGH) opened the rally with the chant, “What do we have? Nothing! What do we want? Everything!” A speech was also given connecting the housing struggle to capitalist oppression and the necessity of making revolution to overcome slum conditions.
Tenants then gave speeches exposing Lara Washington for the inhumane conditions they had suffered. “You wake up to make your kids breakfast, and there’s rats crawling over the stove,” said one tenant. “I know someone who’s trying to potty-train her baby girl, and there’s mold in the bathroom.” Read the full story @ incendiarynews.com
#pittsburgh #tenants #slumlords #servethepeople #stp
